Mick Malthouse: How Eagles, Tigers can be beaten

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HE is a weapon of mass destruction, but his lone presence also poses a problem for Richmond.

Toby Nankervis, at 199cm tall, isn’t huge by a ruckman’s standards, but his influence on the Tigers and the result of their games is always big.

The problem is, there’s only one of him. Richmond don’t have a genuine second ruckman.

Shaun Grigg, 9cm shorter than Nankervis, is the back up and does a fine job. I don’t want to diminish his ability or his role in the team, but he needs help to cover the big hole left every time Nankervis takes a seat on the interchange bench.

Their opponents will look at every stoppage Nankervis has gone to compared with when he is off the ground, breaking it down to clearances versus non-clearances, and this may be the Tigers’ Achilles heel.

But Richmond’s coaching hierarchy seems comfortable with the net numbers and how the team copes, which suggests the Tigers are not as hurt on the scoreboard as most people think. Then again, I don’t think this has been entirely exploited by all opponents.

The Tigers can be exposed at the stoppages in the opposition’s forward line, where Grigg, lacking height, passes the tap work over to defender David Astbury.

It has worked reasonably well, but this is where it is most vulnerable.

In contrast, in the Tigers’ forward line Grigg’s stand-in seems to be selected at random which can throw out the opposition ruckman. And often, the Tigers ruck doesn’t contest the ball, instead becoming an intercept or receiving player at ground level, confusing the defenders further. This often works to Richmond’s advantage.

In the Tigers’ qualiyfing final win against Hawthorn, Nankervis took part in 65 ruck contests with Grigg, Jack Riewoldt, Daniel Rioli and Astbury combining for another 32. Twice the Tigers didn’t have anyone contest the ruck. For the 83 per cent or more of game time that Nankervis plays, his responsibility and reliability factor is incredible.

His mobility allows him to follow up well in the middle, he can take a mark deep in defence, or get forward and kick a goal.

Richmond’s style of bullocking the ball forward at all cost and the preparedness of their players to get numbers to the ball is the biggest challenge for opponents to counter, and it all starts with Nankervis.

This technique is as much about commitment as it is about consistency.

The West Coast Eagles still need one more win to book a spot in the AFL Grand Final, but some members have already booked their seats.

The West Coast Eagles still need one more win to book a spot in the AFL Grand Final, but some members have already booked their seats.

If Richmond’s intensity is not at 100 per cent, or if they are met head-on by opponents, they can be deeply flawed, as Greater Western Sydney displayed in round 17 when they were able to clear the ball out and over the top of the Tigers back line for a tight win.

West Coast were also very effective at this in round nine, beating the Tigers by 47 points. But the Tigers’ ferocity against Hawthorn in the qualifying final was extraordinary. The Hawks simply couldn’t stand up to the heat they faced all over the ground. As Richmond’s MCG winning streak mounts (it sits at 22), it gets closer to a conclusion at some stage.

I’m just not convinced it will happen this year. In a team with Dustin Martin, Trent Cotchin, Alex Rance and Jack Riewoldt, Nankervis is singularly the most important player.

Nic Naitanui is possibly the league’s best ruckman, purely because of his athleticism, but without him the Eagles have covered his loss with Scott Lycett and Nathan Vardy. Against Collingwood’s Brodie Grundy in the qualifying final, they had 21 combined fewer hit-outs than the Magpies, but the clearances were virtually even.

In the other qualifying final, Nankervis had 27 hit-outs against Hawthorn’s Ben McEvoy and Jonathan Ceglar who combined for 55 taps, but again the clearances were similar, with the Hawks on top 43-42.

In 2010, Darren Jolly was the missing link at Collingwood. Big, strong, experienced, hard-working and well liked, in his first year at the club Jolly became our premiership X-factor.

Similarly in 1992 with the Eagles, Paul Harding’s arrival was vital to our premiership chances. We needed his height, strength and ability in the centre to win the grand final.

Essendon Simon Madden is the only genuine ruckman to win a Norm Smith Medal (1985) but, should Richmond progress, Nankervis may be the second.

Adam Simpson has left the door open for someone other than Will Schofield to replace the injured Brad Sheppard next week.

Adam Simpson has left the door open for someone other than Will Schofield to replace the injured Brad Sheppard next week.

West Coast’s come-from-behind qualifying final win over Collingwood was momentous.

Interestingly though, the Eagles’ last loss — to Melbourne in round 22 — was a very similar game to their final against the Magpies, where their opponents moved the ball quickly through the corridor to an isolated key forward.

The pace of such ball movement denied Jeremy McGovern and Tom Barrass the opportunity to intercept.

Plus Collingwood squeezed up on the Eagles’ defence and forced them into kicking errors which allowed their medium forwards to get involved.

Another area of concern for West Coast is their lateral movement of the footy which was stifled by Collingwood, denying the home side the type of forward entries Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling desire.

But the Eagles have a fantastic recent history of overcoming adversity.

They can match any team in contested football with a high-pressure game, and when they use quick and long ball movement, bypassing the high forwards to hit Kennedy and Darling directly without interference from an opposing tall dropping back, they are hard to stop.

Kennedy couldn’t be worse than he was in the first half of the qualifying final, but his resilience in the second half was the reason West Coast won. The Eagles need him and Darling to step up once again.

Shannon Hurn is instrumental in setting up his teammates, directing them like a traffic policeman, and when their set-up is right the ball rarely leaves the opposition back line the way it’s intended to.

The Eagles have won 10 of 13 games at their new home ground, Perth Stadium.

They are not unbeatable there, yet, but the more they play there, the more they are making it their own.

Richmond and West Coast will enter the preliminary finals as favourites — refreshed and rejuvenated.

But there have been many upsets in finals history, and Melbourne in particular will carry in sizeable momentum and confidence.

A week off is welcomed in some ways, but in another it feels like waiting for prey that is getting bigger by the day, until they’re finally on your doorstep.

The only certainty in a preliminary final is that it will be a fiercely contested match.